Nigeria Establishes Special Military Division To Fight Boko Haram
The Nigerian government has approved a new Army Division which will Monday take over counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations aga...
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The Nigerian government has approved a new Army Division which will Monday take over counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations against the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram in the country's North-East, Nigeria's defence spokesman, Brig Gen Chris Olukolade, said.
The takeover of the operations by an Army Division means that the Nigerian Army will now be solely in charge of the operations, even though it remains under the routine guidance of the Defence Headquarters.
The army already has five Divisions located in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna and Jos.
A General Officer Commanding (GOC), with the rank of Major General, will command the new Division, which will have its headquarters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, the spiritual home state of Boko Haram.
Code-named Operation Boyona, an acronym derived from the names of the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in which President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in May, the military Joint Task Force (JTF) which will preceded the Division executed the mandate spelt out in the declaration.
"Coming three months into the mission to stamp out terrorism in the North-East, this development is in line with the plans laid out for the conduct of the operations to execute the mandate spelt out in the State of Emergency declaration by the President, Commander-in-Chief.
"The phase being concluded on Monday was executed by a Joint Task Force composed by troops drawn from the services of the Armed Forces as well as other security agencies who conducted Operation Boyona," Brig Gen Olukolade said in a statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram members on Saturday set ablaze 300 vehicles in Damboa, situated 87km from Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's northern Borno state, in continuation of their attacks on the town, the local media reported Sunday.
The attack came a day after the sect members hit a police station and a military post in the town and killed 11 residents.
According to Sunday'e edition of the National Mirror, the perpetrators of Friday's attack re-mobilised and returned to the community.
They used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to blow up vehicles, shops and homes, while at the same time firing sporadically in the air.
The paper quoted a top military officer as confirming the incident and saying more soldiers have been dispatched to the affected area to confront the Boko Haram insurgents.
After a lull in attacks, caused by the massive deployment of troops to the three states (Adamama, Borno and Yobe) in which President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state pf emergency last May, Boko Haram has launched a series of new attacks, especially in Borno state, in recent times.
On Sunday, another local newspaper, Vanguard, reported that President Jonathan is sending 8,000 fresh troops to combat the insurgents.
Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009, shortly after the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yusuf, and has since killed over 3,000 people in bomb and gun attacks in the predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria.
The army already has five Divisions located in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna and Jos.
A General Officer Commanding (GOC), with the rank of Major General, will command the new Division, which will have its headquarters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, the spiritual home state of Boko Haram.
Code-named Operation Boyona, an acronym derived from the names of the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in which President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in May, the military Joint Task Force (JTF) which will preceded the Division executed the mandate spelt out in the declaration.
"Coming three months into the mission to stamp out terrorism in the North-East, this development is in line with the plans laid out for the conduct of the operations to execute the mandate spelt out in the State of Emergency declaration by the President, Commander-in-Chief.
"The phase being concluded on Monday was executed by a Joint Task Force composed by troops drawn from the services of the Armed Forces as well as other security agencies who conducted Operation Boyona," Brig Gen Olukolade said in a statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram members on Saturday set ablaze 300 vehicles in Damboa, situated 87km from Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's northern Borno state, in continuation of their attacks on the town, the local media reported Sunday.
The attack came a day after the sect members hit a police station and a military post in the town and killed 11 residents.
According to Sunday'e edition of the National Mirror, the perpetrators of Friday's attack re-mobilised and returned to the community.
They used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to blow up vehicles, shops and homes, while at the same time firing sporadically in the air.
The paper quoted a top military officer as confirming the incident and saying more soldiers have been dispatched to the affected area to confront the Boko Haram insurgents.
After a lull in attacks, caused by the massive deployment of troops to the three states (Adamama, Borno and Yobe) in which President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state pf emergency last May, Boko Haram has launched a series of new attacks, especially in Borno state, in recent times.
On Sunday, another local newspaper, Vanguard, reported that President Jonathan is sending 8,000 fresh troops to combat the insurgents.
Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009, shortly after the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yusuf, and has since killed over 3,000 people in bomb and gun attacks in the predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria.
